Sellers of property constantly ponder upon this question, whether or not to appo int just one agent to market

the property or just open up to as many agents as p ossible to work on marketing the property. Before we go into the actual thoughts in the decision-making process, it is impo rtant to understand the definition of an Ad-Hoc Listing and an Exclusive Listing . Exclusive Listing An exclusive agency listing is where you give the full right of the sale of the property to an appointed exclusive estate agent. In this case, only the appointe d exclusive agent is authorized to market the sale of the property and to transa ct the sale for their fees. The top benefit of an exclusive listing is that the agent gives your listing a higher priority. This is important as you would want the agent to work on the listing and not just sit on it. When selecting an exclusive agent, be sure to consider his or her experience in real estate, track record in handling similar properties, commitment to the mark eting & sale of the property, network of potential buyers, and is someone you ar e comfortable and confident with. The downside to exclusive listing is in your selection of the exclusive agent. Y ou are tied down with the agent for the period of the exclusive appointment and if he or she is ineffective, there isn t much that you could do about it. Ad-Hoc Listing An ad-hoc listing or in other terms, open listing lets you sell the property by yourself and to appoint as many agents as you please to work on the marketing of the property. It is also termed non-exclusive listing, meaning the owner may ex ecute ad-hoc listing with more than one real estate agent and pay only the real estate agent who brings an able buyer whose offer the owner accepts. Considerations when appointing agents on Ad-Hoc basis When a listing is given to many agents, quite naturally the agents will begin ma rketing the property which would include advertising i.e. on iproperty.com.my pr operty portal. Now a typical buyer looking for a property will run through the search engine an d all listings that match their requirements will appear. Imagine the results sh ow 6 or more advertisements for the same property. The first impression the pote ntial buyer gets is that the owner could be in a hurry to sell. This will not wo rk well for the owner as this may not be the case even on an ad-hoc listing situ ation. Then comes the next problem, which agent to call if they are really interested i n the property? Should they call the agent who advertises the lowest price? Ther e are instances of the agents putting different prices for the same property, at times just slightly lower than the other to hopefully get the call from prospec tive buyer. Buyers will unlikely call the agent advertising the same property wh ere the asking price is higher for the very fact that buyers want to buy at the best possible price. There could also be situations where the buyer calls a few of the agents marketi ng the same property and there are also instances where they make different offe rs for the property hoping to finally get it at the price that they want. This w ill create artificial interest on the property all by one buyer and confuse you as the owner. These points are worth considering when making the decision to appoint an exclus ive agent or multiple agents to market your property. Why Real Estate Agents prefer Exclusive Listing? The number one reason is the certainty of payment. It is nothing more comforting to an agent than to have the certainty of their efforts compensated. There are costs involved in marketing a property for sale in addition to the time spent on working at securing offers for the property. When there is a single agent involved in marketing the property, there is concen trated effort in the marketing as there is more commitment from the agent. The a gent, knowing that the sale or rental of the property is dependent only on him o r her, will ensure that he/she is responsible and accountable. I can share from experience of working with sellers of property on an exclusive

basis. It is a lot more stressful for the agent as he or she must deliver with r esults, knowing that the owner has entrusted the duty solely on him or her, espe cially so when there is an urgent sale or rental situation. The agent will recip rocate the trust the seller or landlord has on them with a heightened duty of ca re. The number two reason is control on the sale of the property in order to work ou t the best offer. Naturally, because of this, you cannot expect the same level of commitment and s ervice when you appoint the agent on an ad-hoc basis versus on an exclusive basi s. Making the Choice Making an educated decision is usually the key to making the right decision. If you have fully understood the benefits of an exclusive listing vs an ad hoc list ing, you can make the right choice for your property. Be sure to consider all th e facts carefully. You do not want to short yourself in a sale. Also, be aware of the length of time that you are agreeing to for an exclusive l isting. Be sure to ask your real estate agent to work with other agents on the s ale of the property as part of the understanding of appointing him or her as you r exclusive agent to benefit from a larger pool of buyers. A good real estate ag ent should be flexible and should aim to meet the needs of the owners while prov iding great advice and great service. Sole Listing There is also an option of a sole listing, where, as the owner, you can reserve the right to sell the property yourself and not pay any fees and still maintain the services of one agent working on the marketing of the property. Be sure to c heck with your real estate agents on the implications of these various listing o ptions to ensure that you are fully aware of your options.